


Superhero

by rilakumabear



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-02
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-03 05:05:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1732208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rilakumabear/pseuds/rilakumabear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Discontinued] Single father Shim Changmin is convinced he's a terrible parent. But when his son falls mysteriously ill, it's up to Dr Jung Yunho to save the young child and heal a broken heart along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone asks, I doubt I will finish this fic, but uploading just in case I do.

The children’s wing is always more brightly decorated than the rest of the building. It’s as if they actually think that smiling tractors and cartoon animals will really distract the children from the inevitable sickness and death that permeates the air here. Changmin wrinkles his nose. He hates hospitals.

“Daddy,” a tug on his hand. Changmin looks down at his four year old son, Minho, and smiles. 

“Yeah, baby? What is it?” 

“Can I have ice cream?” the child asks, eyes rounded like a puppy. Changmin chuckles to himself, ruffling the young boys hair. 

“Sorry, son, not today. You’re here because you’re sick, and ice cream is just going to make you feel worse. Maybe when you’re better, hm?”

Minho pouts sadly, but agrees nonetheless, going back to drawing superheroes on a pamphlet called All about Childcare: how much should I feed my baby?  
On the cover, there’s a picture of a young couple. The woman cradles a new born in her arms, and the man wraps them both into his embrace. Even though Changmin knows it must have been posed by models, he can’t help but think that the couple’s smiles look genuine. He finds a ghost of a smile lurking around his mouth as he thinks back to the day Minho was born. The baby had been happy and healthy, and had been gurgling as he stared up at his parents. Then Changmin’s smile fades as his thoughts inevitably turned to Yeon Hee.

Yeon Hee...I miss you so much.

It was unfair, he thought, how something that should have been the happiest day of his life had also simultaneously turned into one of the worst days of his life. After Minho’s birth, the new family had a few hours of blissful happiness, cradling their new son and dreaming of the future. Then Yeon Hee had felt tired- much too tired- falling asleep and never waking again.

That night, Changmin had held his baby to his chest, crying as he thought about his son who would never have a mother. Life gives and takes, and the day Changmin gained his son, he lost his wife.

Shim Minho, to room number three, please, a soothing voice announces over the tannoy, snapping Changmin back from his thoughts. He gathers himself up, taking Minho’s hand and leading the young child to the doctor’s room.

Dr Jung, the name on the door reads. Paediatrician. 

“Come in, come in!” A cheerful voice says as Changmin knocks on the door. The doctor looks young-ish, perhaps in his thirties or so. His hair is raven black, with some brown highlights, the soft strands falling forward to frame a kittenish face.

“Hello,” Changmin says politely. Minho mumbles a greeting after his father.

“Good morning!” the doctor cries happily. “I’m Dr. Jung, but you can call me Yunho. So, you must be Shim Changmin, correct? And you, my handsome friend, must be Minho!”

His enthusiasm is almost infectious, and Changmin smiles in relief as Minho nods shyly in response. His son doesn’t usually respond to strangers well, so this was a good start.

“Well, take a seat.” Yunho gestures to an orange chair beside the desk. “Now, I see your GP has referred your son to the hospital for some tests, yes?”

“Yes,” Changmin agrees, as he pulls Minho onto his lap. “Minho’s been feeling ill for about a month now, and vomits at least three times a week. And recently he’s been waking in the middle of the night with a high fever. We’ve had a couple of blood tests already, but they haven’t shown anything out of the ordinary.” He twists the sleeves of his cardigan nervously. “I just want to know what’s going on.”

“Not to worry, Mr Shim,” Yunho placates him soothingly. “I assure you we’ll do our best to help little Minho here. Now, I think to start off with, I’m afraid we’re going to have to run another blood test, just to double check. Will that be alright?”

“Of course,” Changmin says. “But Minho really hates needles...”

At the sound of needles, the young boy looks up from his father’s lap, looking worried. “Daddy, don’t like it!” he whines.

“Sorry, baby, but this is for your own good, okay?” Changmin tries to calm the boy.  
“Dr. Jung will make it really fast.”

“I promise I will,” Yunho says as he pulls the necessary equipment from a cupboard.

But the child panics at the sight of the needle even more, squirming as Changmin tries to hold him down. Eventually, Minho screams, crying as Yunho quickly inserts the needle, drawing the blood out as quickly as possible.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Changmin whispers in Minho’s hair, heart torn at the thought of his son’s terror. 

“All done!” Yunho announces, taping a cotton pad over the needlemark. “I’m sorry about that Minho, but this is going to help us help you get better, alright? You’ve been very brave.”

“Did you hear that, Minho?” Changmin asks the still-crying boy. “Dr. Jung said you were brave!”

But the child still doesn’t calm down, almost choking on his sobs. “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” Changmin says, desperately trying to calm his son.

“Changmin-sshi, he’ll be fine,” Yunho says reassuringly as he packs up the little vial of blood.

“But he’s in pain!” Changmin cries. “And there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“I assure you he’s not crying because it hurts, he’s crying because he was scared.” Yunho explains.

“Oh god, I’m such a bad parent,” Changmin mutters, bouncing his son on his knee. “I made him scared.”

“What!” The doctor cries incredulously. “Changmin-sshi, this wasn’t your fault. Most children are frightened of needles. It has nothing to do with parenting skills. Trust me; I’ve seen this thousands of times before. See? He’s already calming down.” And sure enough, Minho has quietened down, finding comfort by burying his face in his father’s chest. There’s a pause, before Yunho cautiously asks: “If you don’t mind me asking, why is it that you think you’re a bad parent?”

Changmin flushes. “Well, his mother passed away when he was born, so it’s just been me looking after him.” Out of habit, he twists the ring around his finger.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Yunho says, eyes flicking down to the simple gold band. “It must have been hard on you.”

“Yes,” Changmin sighs. “The families of my wife and I haven’t been supportive either... they didn’t exactly approve us marrying so young.” 

Yunho makes a sound of sympathy.

“I’m sorry, you don’t need to know all this,” Changmin apologies.

“No, not at all,” Yunho smiles. 

“So, what happens now?” 

“Well, we need to send the blood sample to the lab first before we’ll know what else to do. This will take a few days.” The doctor explains. “I’m afraid all we can do for now is wait.”

“Alright,” Changmin agrees reluctantly, beginning to move his son.

“If you have any other problems, let your GP know,” Yunho advises. 

“Thank you,” Changmin sighs, rising to his feet. In his arms, Minho slumps. “Minho? Min!”

The boy is deathly pale.

*

The hospital ward is quiet, save for the soft beeping that comes from a machine that’s hooked up to his son. Minho looks tiny, so vulnerable, and Changmin tries not to cry again at the pitiful sight. He sits beside the bed, muscles cramped and aching from staying in the same position for so long. There’s a soft knock on the door, and Yunho enters, followed by a nurse carrying a clipboard.

“Any change?” The doctor asks quietly and the nurse checks Minho's stats.

“No,” Changmin croaks, voice raspy from crying. “I don’t understand. He was fine this morning, and now all of a sudden he’s unconscious?”

“I’m sorry, Mr Shim. We’re doing our best to work out-”

“Your best isn’t enough!” Changmin yells suddenly. The nurse jumps, startled, but Changmin can’t bring himself to apologise. “Doctor, look at him. He’s not awake, he can’t breathe by himself and he’s hooked up onto all these fucking machines, he- he’s only four!” Changmin cries, voice breaking. “And you don’t even know what’s wrong with him.”

“Tiffany,” Yunho addresses the nurse, looking entirely calm at Changmin’s sudden outburst. “Could you leave us for a moment, please?”

“Of course,” Tiffany murmurs, quickly exiting the room. Silence falls over them, and Changmin sinks back into his chair, eyes fixed on Minho’s fragile form.

“I’m sorry,” Changmin whispers eventually. “I just... I’m his parent, I’m supposed to look after him, but I can’t even do that.”

“Changmin- may I call you that?” Yunho continues as Changmin wearily nods his assent. “In the field of medicine, there are thousands of things we still don’t understand. That includes mystery illnesses, miraculous recoveries, and once in a while, a sick child who seems to faint for no reason. But just because we don’t know for sure what’s wrong with Minho, that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try out best to help him in any way we can. I need you to trust me on that.”

“I do,” Changmin breathes. “It’s just... I hate hospitals. It’s very hard for me to remain optimistic here.”

“Because of your wife?” Yunho asks cautiously, pulling a chair up beside him. 

Changmin nods. “I guess you could say I don’t have the best memories of hospitals.”

“Neither do I,” Yunho admits, and Changmin stares at him in surprise. 

“But you work in a hospital,” he points out, frowning in confusion. 

“Yes, I do,” Yunho confirms, laughing a little. “Look, I would tell you more, but I need to finish my rounds.”

“Of course. I’m so sorry.”

“You need to stop apologising to me so often,” Yunho laughs again.

“I’m so-” Changmin manages to catch himself, and flushes. The doctor grins, reaching out to ruffle Changmin’s hair as if he were a boy.

“Why don’t you make it up to me? My shift ends in twenty minutes; can I meet you in the cafeteria then?”

“Oh... I don’t know...” Changmin starts, gesturing to Minho. “I can’t leave him.”

“Changmin, he’ll be fine. The staff can page me if there’s any change, and I’ll let you know if they do. Besides, when was the last time you ate anything?”

Right then, Changmin’s stomach decides to let out the loudest and most humiliating rumble, causing him to clutch at his midriff in embarrassment, but the doctor only laughs in a good-natured manner. “See? Even your stomach agrees with me. So, how about it?”

“Alright... I suppose I can leave for a short while.” Changmin agrees reluctantly, as Yunho heads to the door.

“Great!” Yunho smiles, then winks. “It’s a date!”

And before Changmin can react to that, the doctor leaves.


	2. Chapter 2

Social interactions are definitely not Changmin’s forte. His job didn’t require meeting that many people, and raising a child by yourself pretty much cuts down any chance of a normal social life. So it’s because of this that Changmin desperately wishes he hadn’t agreed to lunch with Yunho- let alone a date. Or was it a date? He didn’t really know if the doctor had been serious when he said that- maybe he was just using a common phrase. But what if he did mean it? It wasn’t exactly appropriate given the circumstances, but Changmin can’t deny he’s almost... looking forward to seeing the doctor. But then, if it’s a date, surely it would be the first and last. Someone as interesting as a doctor would certainly be bored to death by an awkward young single father with plenty of baggage.

Changmin breathes out a huff of air, mentally kicking himself for being so pathetic. Stop over-thinking this, he tells himself sternly. It’s just lunch. Eat. Smile. Make small talk. Then get back to Minho. It’s as simple as that.

“Mind if I join you?” a voice cuts through his thoughts. Yunho’s standing in front of him, with a tray of canteen food and a gentle smile. “Sorry I’m late, by the way. I got held up with one of the patients.” He sits down as Changmin gapes rather unattractively.

“Of- of course,” he finally manages to stutter. Get it together, Shim. “Um, I didn't know what you wanted to eat so I just got you a coffee. Is that alright?” he pushes the ceramic mug towards the doctor, who leans forward to greedily breathe in the scent.

“It’s perfect, Changmin. Thank you,” Yunho enthuses, as if the cup contains Cuban Serrana Slow Roast rather than little sachets of instant. Changmin begins to wonder if the doctor is ever upset about anything. “By the way,” Yunho begins, as his stirs in some sugar. “Are you feeling better?”

Changmin flushes, remembering his earlier outburst. “Yes, thank you. I’m sorry about, you know- before. I shouldn't have yelled like that, especially when you’re working so hard already.”

Yunho waves away his apology. “Changmin-sshi, don’t worry about it. It’s a perfectly natural reaction. Besides, I've faced much worse. You know one time, there was a lady who threw a tantrum because we couldn’t wrap her arm in pink bandages? She said the colour of the bandages we used didn't match her skin tone.”

“Really?” Changmin asks, laughing a little. “That’s ridiculous! You’re making this up.”

“I swear I’m not! She even ripped off the bandages I put on and demanded I bring pink ones,” Yunho rolls his eyes and Changmin can’t help but laugh more. The ice is broken, and conversation flows naturally between them. 

“So what do you do for a living?” Yunho asks curiously, as he chews on a French fry.

“I’m a writer,” Changmin admits, blushing a little. “Nothing big. I write stories for children, but I’m mostly freelance.”

“Wow,” Yunho says. He actually looks impressed. “You must have an amazing imagination.”

“Not at all,” Changmin quickly refutes. “Actually most of my inspiration comes from Minho. I’ll just sit and watch him playing with toys- it helps me understand my target audience, you know? Then I know what little kids would be interesting in reading.”

“That’s ingenious!” Yunho exclaims. “Seriously, I never would have thought of that. You’re really smart, Changminnie.”

Changmin smiles self-consciously at the nickname. It’s odd for someone he’s pretty much just met to be addressing him so casually, but he finds that, with Yunho, he doesn’t really mind.

“Yunho-sshi,” he interrupts the older man apologetically. “Thanks for lunch, but I really want to get back to Minho, if that’s alright.”

“Oh, of course,” the doctor replies, standing as Changmin makes to leave. “I’m sorry, and here I was running my mouth off.” 

It’s easy, he finds, to talk to the doctor. Yunho is good-natured, making jokes here and there to entertain, and even seems to find Changmin interesting. It’s because of this that Changmin’s able to ask him his next question.

“Yunho-sshi... Could you do me a favour?” 

The doctor nods immediately. “Sure. What do you need?”

“I need to go home to grab some clothes and stuff since I don’t know how long I’ll need to be in the hospital. But I really don’t want to leave Minho alone- I felt bad enough just coming down to get lunch. If it’s alright, could you watch him until I get back? I mean, if you have time.” He finishes lamely, biting his lip. Yunho’s eyes widen in surprise, and Changmin wonders if he’s asked too much. He’s a doctor after all, with plenty of responsibilities. But Yunho doesn’t mention that. Instead, he says: “You would trust me with that?”

Changmin nods. “Please. I can’t bear the thought of Minho waking up alone. I won’t be gone any more than forty minutes. I swear I’ll owe you one, okay?”

Yunho smiles softly. “Changmin, I’d be honoured. You really are an amazing father.”

They return upstairs to check in on Minho, Yunho reassuring the other man that his son’s condition is stable. They exchange numbers so that the doctor is able to call him if anything happens, then Changmin takes his leave.

At home, he runs around in a frenzy, tossing clothes and toiletries into a duffel bag without really checking what they are. He’s much more careful with Minho’s things, making sure to pick out the young boys’ favourite Batman pyjamas and the fluffy teddy he couldn’t sleep without. He’s halfway out of the door when he realises he hasn’t switched off the mains supply and has to rush back inside again. Finally, Changmin gets behind the wheel of his car, and heads for the hospital again.

Hold on baby, He desperately thinks, hoping somehow, Minho will hear him. I’ll be back soon. Daddy’s coming.  
*  
Yunho is just about nodding off next to Minho’s bed when he’s woken by the sound of the door opening.

“Changmin?”

“No, Tiffany,” the nurse replies, eyes narrowing. “What are you doing here, doctor? I thought your shift ended an hour and a half ago? You should be home, catching up on sleep.”

“Ah, Changmin- this kid’s father- asked me to look after his son whilst he’s gone home to collect clothes and stuff,” Yunho explains, stifling a yawn.

“He could have asked a nurse to do it,” Tiffany points out, as she checks over Minho. “Doctor, you need your rest. You’re no good to us half asleep.”

“But Changminnie wouldn’t have asked me if he didn’t trust me to look after Minho!” Yunho whispers excitedly. 

“Changminnie?” Tiffany repeats, looking half amused and half exasperated. “Yunho, what’s going on? Are you... hitting on him? Because that’s... entirely inappropriate.”

“It’s not like that,” Yunho grumbles. “It’s just... he’s nice, y’know? He’s so kind. And a wonderful father. He’s amazing.”

“No wonder you dragged him down to the canteen for lunch,” Tiffany replies drily.

Yunho blinks in shock. “How did you know?”

Tiffany rolls her eyes. “Yunho. You’re the only person out of all the staff who seems to think a kimchi and fermented soybean paste sandwich makes a good lunch. It’s still stinking out the whole fridge.”

“Oh,” Yunho grins sheepishly. “Sorry. You can throw it out.”

“You throw it out,” Tiffany hisses, as she leaves the room. Yunho settles back into his chair, contemplating her earlier words.

Are you hitting on him? Because that’s entirely inappropriate.

Yunho chews his lip nervously. She kind of had a point, he’s got to admit. Was he attracted to Changmin? If he was honest: Yes. Fuck, yes. How could he not be? The man was gorgeous, all leggy and coltish like a beautiful deer, with brains and a big heart to match. But. He was clearly still upset over his wife’s death, and insecure about his parenting skills. And stressed about his son being sick with some mysterious illness that’s left him unable to breathe without a machine. It definitely was not the right time or place to try and make a move. Yunho slumps miserably. Figures that the first person he’s ever truly connected with in years has to be someone he needs to tone things down with. He sighs, but knows morally, it’s the right thing to do. He’s just not sure he’s able to do it.

He catches something moving out of the corner of his eye, and bolts upright.

“Minho?” Yunho stands, peering over the bed at the young boy, who’s starting to rouse. Minho’s eyes are fluttering, as he strains to take in his new surroundings. Finally he looks up at Yunho, eyes widening as he begins to cry.

“Oh, Minho, it’s okay. Don’t be scared. I’m Doctor Jung Yunho, remember me?” Yunho murmurs soothingly, removing the oxygen mask from the boys face, but Minho’s crying only intensifies. “Oh, sweetie, it’s alright. Your daddy told me to look after you. He’s coming back soon.”

“Daddy? Where’s Daddy?” Minho pauses his crying to ask. Yunho tries not to melt at how adorable the young boy looks. His round eyes definitely come from his father.

“Daddy just went home to get some things for you. He’ll be back really soon, I promise. He told me to look after you. Do you remember me? You and your daddy came to see me this morning.”

Minho nods a little. His crying has mostly stopped, save for the occasional tear that rolls down the sides of his face. “You put a needle in me,” he accuses the doctor.

Yunho chuckles. “Sorry about that, mate. It had to be done.” He presses a button next to the bed that lifts the top half of the mattress, allowing the young boy sit up in bed without using any effort, and hands him a glass of water. “Minho, what’s your favourite thing in the whole world? I like puppies.”

“My favourite thing is Daddy,” Minho replies immediately. Yunho grins, wishing Changmin had heard that.

“Anything else?”

“Superheros!” the boy cries excitedly, tears well and truly gone. Yunho smiles. He’s never ceased to be amazed by the way young children can bounce back so quickly.

“Yeah? Which one is your favourite?”

“Mmm,” the young boy frowns in concentration. “Superman or Batman. They’re really cool! But... I think Daddy’s a better superhero. I really like Daddy superhero.”

“Minho, can you keep a secret? Promise not to tell?” Yunho whispers, as if someone can overhear. The child nods seriously, holding out his little finger and pressing his tiny thumb against Yunho’s. “I really like your Daddy, too.”


End file.
